Air-to-Air Missiles: Capabilities and Developments In China
By Peter Wood, David Yang, and Roger Cliff
Published November 30, 2020
China Aerospace Studies Institute | USAF Air University
“Good enough”, this is how I often describe China’s short-term ambitions. They don’t need to have a world-class / global-leader military, not yet; what they need is something that is ‘good enough’. This has implications for how China pursues its program of military modernization and its goal to increase its comprehensive national power. They don’t need to have a navy that can go toe to toe with the U.S. Navy, they need a military which is ‘good enough’ to keep the U.S. Navy occupied or distracted,
hence developing the idea to use ballistic missiles against aircraft carriers, this is a ‘good enough’ solution for now, at a much lower cost. So too in the realm of aviation. China is working very hard to modernize their fleet of aircraft and striving to improve their aerospace forces, but it takes time and money. So where do they focus? On getting to ‘good enough’.
Air-to-air missiles are a perfect example of this. Their newest fighter, the J-20, is stealthy-ish, may soon be able to supercruise-ish (if they solve their engine problems), and is a modern fighter. Is it as good as an F-35, no, but if you can develop air-to-air missiles that can outreach American and allied missiles, then a decent J-20 is good enough to keep the U.S. aviation forces,
particularly the tanker bridge on which we heavily rely, at arm’s length. Thus ‘good enough’ (for now). Make no mistake,
China has goals to create a ‘world class military’ by 2049 (the centenary of the founding of the PRC), and they have the plans to get there. But in the interim,
finding creative ways to fight asymmetrically will be ‘good enough’ to achieve their aims.
Drawing on Chinese-language sources, this report is the next in the
series of studies by the
China Aerospace Studies Institute that seeks to lay the foundation for
better understanding the Aerospace Sector of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This report describes China’s air-to-air missile capabilities and development. It reviews the history of the PRC’s acquisition of air-to-air missiles and production capabilities, describes the missiles and associated airborne sensors that China has produced or is currently developing, and
provides an overview of China’s air-to-air missile research and development (R&D) ecosystem,
including profiles of key organizations and individuals. It concludes with an assessment of the outlook for China’s air-to-air missile capabilities and their implications for the United States.
We hope you find this volume useful, and look forward to bringing you further details on the foundations of Chinese aerospace in this series.
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“Good enough”, this is how I often describe China’s short-term ambitions. They don’t need to have a world-class / global-leader military, not yet; what they need is something that is ‘good enough’.
www.airuniversity.af.edu
NOTE: This link may probably be geo-blocked in certain geography; in that case you need to use some IP adaptation to see the page. At the bottom part of the page, there is a link to download the report in PDF.
CREDIT TO
@samsara from CDF
Excellent read on China AAM missile development and history The era of 1960 to 1980 was difficult years for China missile development lacking the industrial base( IC production) and theory of Missile technology. But as always help came from unexpected sources. The Taiwan and Vietnam war suddenly make the US missile technology available in the form of unexploded missile stuck in the J5 fuselage. What a struck of luck Of course they dismantle it and send it to Soviet Union for reverse engineer . But in itself is not much of a help without Chinese own effort and the tireless and difficult sacrifice that thousand of bright and hardworking engineer, scientist and industrial worker make over the years Amazing Now China has modern missile and radar technology entirely of her own and on the cusp of breakthru that will exceed US and the west missile technology. Any effort to retard the progress will be exercise in futility the train has left the station. Here the conclusion of the report drawing on Chinese publication
https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/CASI/Books/2020-11- 30 Air-to-Air Missiles and Guidance Systems.pdf?ver=C8qY98R8IETgcweqak0tqA==
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China’s air-to-air missile design and production capabilities have made significant progress in recent decades. Until the late 1980s, the most advanced Chinese missile factories were capable of producing was a reverse-engineered copy of the original AIM-9 Sidewinder, which entered service in the USAF in the mid-1950s.
China is now capable of producing missiles that appear to be comparable in capability to the AIM-9X and AIM-120 AMRAAM. In combination with more capable fighter aircraft and improvements in training, Chinese air-to-air missiles are providing the PLA’s aviation forces with a hitherto unseen level of combat capability. In addition, China is developing very long-range air-to-air missiles with ranges of 300 km or more. Such missiles would provide the PLA with a capability that the U.S. military does not currently possess. As a result of these advances, the United States can no longer assume that it has a dominant advantage over China in air-to-air missiles.
Maintaining the U.S. lead in this area will require continual investment in new and more capable systems. iii In addition, countermeasures may become increasingly important, such as the capability to blind, “dazzle,” or even shoot down missiles with airborne lasers.iv China’s advances in air-to-air missile technology may result in greater exports of Chinese missiles and fighter aircraft. Air-to-air missiles have already become a significant export item, with Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria all purchasing Chinese missiles to arm Chinese-built aircraft. The PL-10 and PL-12, in particular, appear to be meant as rivals for the AIM-9 and AIM120 series IR- and radar-guided AAM families that dominate global markets. While it is unlikely that China’s missiles will be adopted by U.S. allies, their increasing sophistication may help drive sales of Chinese-built fighter jets and related systems to other countries.
A key issue in the future may be China’s ability to overcome increasingly stringent U.S. technology transfer restrictions, which Chinese media describes as a “foreign technology blockade” [国外技术封锁]. Restrictions on foreign technology, for example, were cited as a primary reason that China needed longer than planned to develop modern AAMs with anti-jamming capabilities, such as the PL-12 and PL-9. Were it not for sales of airborne radars, licensed production, and transfer (legally or illicitly) of high-tech materials science, China’s air-to-air missile program would likely be significantly behind where it is today. The question now is whether China’s domestic capabilities to design and manufacture components such as microprocessors are sufficiently advanced that it is no longer dependent on foreign technology or inputs. In the nearterm, however, China’s air-to-air missile capabilities present a significant challenge to U.S. air dominance.
The PL-15 is believed to be equipped with an improved AESA radar seeker and upgraded jam-resistant datalinks. Like the PL-12, the PL-15 is also expected to employ a composite guidance system that features both mid-course and terminal guidance. Its mid-course guidance capability would enable the missile to receive course correction information in flight from a standoff AEW&C aircraft such as a KJ-2000, without requiring the missile’s launch platform, such as a J31 stealth fighter, to turn on its own radar and risk giving away its position.
According to Janes Defense Weekly, the PL-15 might have already entered PLAAF service as of July 2017.
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PL-21 (PL-XX) The PL-21 (also referred to as the PL-XX, since the missile’s actual designation, or even its existence, cannot be confirmed) is said to be a ramjet-powered active radarhoming very long-range air-to-air missile (VLRAAM) under development with performance characteristics roughly comparable to the American AIM-120 AMRAAM, DARPA's Triple Threat Terminator (T3), Europe's MBDA Meteor, and the Russian Vympel R-77. The existence of the missile has never been confirmed in reliable Chinese sources, although there are strong indications that China had been making serious efforts to develop a ramjet-powered AAM. In May 2017, for instance, the state-owned Science and Technology Daily newspaper reported that the 4th Research Institute of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC) had successfully tested a ramjet engine designed to power air-to-air missiles. In a separate Global Times report, the engine was claimed to be hypersonic (Mach 5+), which would make it a scramjet. Moreover, the new engine was said to be able to more than triple the range of existing Chinese BVRAAMs, to over 300 kilometers.149 Notably, a display graphic at the 2014 Zhuhai Airshow appears to show a J-31 fighter carrying four unidentified missiles fitted with ramjet engines. The new missile appears significantly larger than any known Chinese AAM, such as the PL-12 or the PL-15.
PL-21 MISSILE with more than 400 km Range
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PL 10 with this missile China has one of the best short range missile
PL-10 The PL-10, and in particular the PL-10E variant, is currently China’s most advanced SRAAM. The missile was developed by the CHINA AEROSPACE STUDIES INSTITUTE 37 Shanghai Academy of Science and Technology, with Liang Xiaogeng [梁晓庚] (profiled below) credited as the missile’s chief designer. The missile appears to have been partially based on the South African Denel A-Darter AAM. The design of the original “A” variant was finalized in 2010 and entered production in 2013.
The latest “E” variant was first unveiled at the 11th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai in 2016. The PL-10E weighs 105 kg and has a range of 20 km. The missile can be slaved to a helmet-mounted sight, giving the pilot “look and shoot” capabilities. The design incorporates thrust vectoring technology to help it achieve high maneuverability and the missile can withstand 60 Gs and achieve high angles of attack. According to its designer, the PL-10E has superior anti-jamming abilities.132 Importantly, the PL-10E can attack targets at significant off-boresight angles “several times” greater than the 30 degrees typical on missiles of the previous generation. For comparison, the AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder's IR sensor is capable of tracking targets up to 90 degrees off-bore.
The missile also incorporates a more advanced IR sensor that images the entirety of its target, rather than focusing on a specific salient IR source, giving it true all-aspect targeting capability. Reports also indicate that the missile can be mounted on second- and third-generation fighters with modifications. In simulated air combat, the PL-10E hit a target at a range of 20 km and bearing [方位] of 38 degrees off boresight. It was reportedly able to “turn at nearly a 90-degree angle and was not fooled by infrared decoys.”133 The PL-10 was first shown being used in live-fire exercises in 2016 during the “Red Sword”
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PL-15 MISSILE with more than 300 km Range
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Chinese AAM in Active-Service with Their Combat Range
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Credit to @Hendrik2000 from SDF
The most important thing from Chinese AAM are their PL-15 with more than 300 km Range, and PL-21 with more than 400 km Range.
That outstrip all western AAM, and easily Destroy any Enemy Airforces before enemy can shot them back.
PL-15 AAM also Equipped with
DUAL-PULSE MOTOR TECHNOLOGY that will give him very Long Range & High-Kill Probability, And AESA Radar seeker that very very Hard to jam
It's like a Battle between a soldier using stones with 100 m Range, against a soldier with machine Gun with 1,000 m Range kill
Whoever have Longer Arm will WIN the battle easily
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